Kaiba hurried down the ramp to the beach, feeling an unpleasant rush of nostalgia. Mokuba had renovated the ramp, adding thicker glass barriers, and he'd re-finished the steps, adding a new layer of paint.
Grimacing, Kaiba's feet sank invitingly into the soft sand as he walked closer to the rushing waves, his fingers growing numb from the weight of the portrait. The urn sloshed dangerously in his other arm, and he had to slow down, walking carefully to the wet sand and setting the vase down with an annoyed huff.
There.
Ocean scenery for the deceased Elder.
A shallow wave washed up and drenched his ankles.
Cursing, Kaiba leapt back and then scrambled forward to pick the vase up before it tipped over, but he was too late. The wet sand gave away underneath the heavy ceramic, and it fell over in slow motion as ash spilled out over the lip and got washed away from another oncoming wave.
"FUCK!" Kaiba cried, jerking it up over his head, trying to save what he could.
It had gotten significantly lighter. About half of it had spilled.
Fuck. Fuck FUCK.
Great.
"Guess I'll fill it with sand to fool Mokuba," Kaiba growled, wondering what other blasphemous sins he was going to commit while expertly fucking up.
Sitting down ungracefully in the sand, Kaiba hung his head between his long legs, hissing in fury when the icy water rushed up along the beach to seep into his pantlegs.
Fuccck thiiiis…..
Letting his breath out slowly, Kaiba shut his eyes and willed himself not to lose it.
He needed a fucking break.
Someone was laughing at him in the distance, and he jerked his head up angrily to see who it was.
No one.
The horizon was empty, and the beach was deserted.
Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Kaiba sharpened his senses and scanned the ocean's edge, wondering what merperson was spying on him and laughing at his expense. Kaiba saw no one—and he heard it again, a deep, throaty cackle…coming from inside the vase.
His stomach twisted with fear, and he gazed at the dark mouth of the urn.
Inching closer to peer into it and he heard the cackling growing louder.
H-Holy fuck!
Reeling with shock, Kaiba dragged the vase closer and looked directly inside, seeing nothing but a dark, gaping hole.
"…Fill me up!" The old lady's voice demanded, sounding awfully bossy. "With water! Ocean water on a bright moon. Align the moon's glow with the mouth of the container and you'll have what you need. Take small sips, or you'll faint."
Kaiba blinked and shook the vase furiously. "Isono? Is that you?!"
There was a silence, and Kaiba grit his teeth, shaking the vase again and hearing the laughter echo inside while the voice repeated itself like an automated message.
"Fill me up! With water! Ocean water on a bright moon! Align the moon's glow with the mouth of the container and you'll have what you need. Take small sips, or you'll faint."
Kaiba leaned away from the urn in disbelief, his rage bursting forth heatedly. "I'm not drinking from an urn! Fuck off!" he cried, shaking with dismay and anger.
He hovered his ear over the mouth of the urn and listened for another message, but that was it.
God…Dammit.
Fuming and fed up, Kaiba rose to his feet, striding into the freezing water and emptied the urn viciously into an oncoming wave, feeling his eyes burn.
Fuck this shit.
If the message was his own hallucination, he'd return the vase on the mantel full of sand.
If it wasn't…. then he was drinking ocean water from an urn that once held Isono's ashes.
Was this his idea of a joke?!
Resisting the urge to throw the urn as far away from him as possible, Kaiba trudged back to dry sand and sank into a sitting position, keeping the vase tucked between his knees. Fine.
He would fucking do it. Maybe it had to be this way.
It had been designed to be ridiculous.
Kaiba watched the sun rise higher over his head, and his stomach grumbled, but he ignored it.
He would wait for the sun set. It wasn't long now. Better head back into the house to take a nap and come out when it was dark to perform the atrocious act.
Standing up and dusting himself off, Kaiba snatched the vase up and decided to leave the portrait of Isono propped up in the sand. It was fine. No one was coming by to steal it.
Walking tiredly up the steps into the house, Kaiba slid the glass door aside and sank into the nearest couch and made sure to set the vase on the table in front of him before he closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep.
A cool breeze passed over his cheek, and Kaiba woke up with a start, realizing it was completely dark out and he'd officially missed dinner with Mokuba.
He could see the orange light blinking on the phone hanging on the wall, and he groaned.
Palming his face to wake himself, Kaiba staggered sleepily to pick it up and heard the automated message. "You have… three unheard voicemails … to accept them, please press 1…."
Kaiba stabbed the screen so hard, it turned green underneath his nail, and Mokuba's gruff voice drifted from the receiver.
"Maybe I'm dumb for expecting you to show up for dinner. Try again tomorrow? Where are you? Beach property? Either way, don't get yourself killed. Goodnight. I'm going to bed because you woke me up at 4AM today."
"End message. Next message," the recording intoned, and the next one played right after that.
"Oh I forgot to mention, I didn't tell Adina or Atem that you're here. I wanted to surprise them at the dinner, so I guess it's a good thing I saved them the disappointment."
"End message. Next message."
"Did you do something to Kemo?! He's acting weird, saying he doesn't know where you went! He also suffered a random asthma attack this afternoon. He's never been sick a day in his life and he doesn't have a history of asthma, but we called the doctor anyway. CALL ME BACK IF YOU'RE THERE! AND WHERE ARE ISONO'S ASHES?! DID YOU TAKE THEM?! SETO!"
"End message. To repeat the message…."
Kaiba hung up hastily and swallowed his anxiety.
Well, shit.
He sprung into action, snatching the empty vase off the low table and dashed to the sink to rinse it out with hot water and soap. When he was finished, he rushed out of the house, down the ramp and out onto the beach, eager to be by the water.
Taking a deep breath of crisp, ocean air, Kaiba felt himself relax instantly, and he almost wished for his fins back.
Almost.
His past few years on land had been painful and plagued with illness.
Mokuba's shouting didn't bring back pleasant memories of that either.
His feet crunched in the wet sand and he glanced up into the night sky, seeing a waning gibbous moon hanging overhead.
Good enough, right? The message had said 'bright moon'.
Sighing with resignation, Kaiba waded into the freezing water and dipped the vase into an oncoming wave, filling it up to the brim and wrinkling his nose at the murky water. He'd ingested ocean water plenty of times, on accident and intentionally, but this…was something else. He shook his head and took long strides back to dry sand, sitting down beside the portrait of Isono which was still where he'd left it earlier and comically toasted the large photo with the vase in both hands.
"Here's to you, you motherfucker," Kaiba hissed, and he raised the edge of the vase to his lips, tilting his head back to take a light sip.
The bitterness of the salt water made him gag, and Kaiba barely managed to set the vase down before his world swam before him and he was thrown into a memory so dark, he wasn't sure if he'd passed out.
All was quiet. The crashing ocean waves had faded.
Maybe…this memory was a glitch and he didn't drink enough.
Just as that thought left him, Kaiba heard a hair-raising voice he thought he'd never hear again.
"BOY! Where are you! I know you're hiding! COME OUT, NOW!"
Gozaburo. The evil monster.
Frozen to the core with fear, Kaiba's breath caught in his chest as the voice grew closer, and he was blinded by a bright, white light, and he found himself facedown on hardwood floors. Jumping in fear, Kaiba curled his fingertips into the sand underneath him, willing himself to remain in the present, but he could feel the pain from his face being smashed into the ground by the giant hand over his head.
"You piece of shit! You're one of them! I know you are! Where is it?! TELL ME!"
Kaiba bit his tongue so hard, he tasted blood, and he could hear his ten-year-old self screaming, "I don't know what you're talking about!" And a loud slap stung his cheek. The same cheek that had been pinned to the floor, and his eye throbbed.
F-Fuck.
What a fucking shitty memory.
He was released and shoved against the wall.
Gozaburo stormed out of the room, leaving him panting for air and bleeding from the temple. Touching his cheek with two fingers, he trembled when he saw bright emerald blood, and he clenched his fists in despair.
The door was shut quietly, and he tensed fearfully, seeing an old woman at the doorway with strands of white hair coming out of a messy bun, wearing a stiff maid's uniform, holding a handkerchief out for him with a withering look.
E-Elder Iota. Isono. But she didn't look like a man yet. Why?
"Do you enjoy torturing yourself, Seto?" she lectured, moving forward to dab the blood off his face. "This isn't going to save anyone. He's already raiding the ocean with his ships. The best thing for you to do is count your losses and leave this place! Let's go!"
That memory faded, and Kaiba found himself staring into the old woman's face. Her outfit changed again and again while she said the same thing, gripping his arm while the scenes spun around him in a colorful blur, but her face never changed.
"Let's go!" She insisted, dragging him down a set of unfamiliar stone steps and towards a waiting car.
Kaiba risked a glance behind him and saw a young couple clutching each other, tear-stricken and sad.
"We love you! No matter what home you end up in!" the man cried, waving, and Kaiba lifted his hand to wave back when the old woman's hand shot out to grab him again.
"Let's go!" She growled, this time, wearing a dark blue pantsuit and marching him out of another house, but this one had a low gate, and they were surrounded by sprawling farmland.
"Momo will miss you!" A little girl's voice called out, and Kaiba whipped his head over his shoulder to see a man, woman, and their daughter waving at him from the doorway, looking heartbroken.
"Let's go! Seto, don't look back. It's time for the next home," the elder insisted, her outfit now a sharp, black pantsuit, and she carried a clipboard under her arm.
Kaiba looked back anyway and saw another family bidding him goodbye, standing on the steps of a beautiful three-story home where two cars were parked neatly up against a driveway with a towering maple trees.
That scene faded, and he found himself standing back in the room at the mansion with the elder dabbing blood off his face.
The horizon came swimming into view, and the visions ended.
Stunned, Kaiba stared blankly at the portrait of Isono and reached for the vase, tipping it back and daring to take a larger sip, his throat burning as he was brought back into the same memory, understanding that if he didn't pull out occasionally, he'd faint or throw up.
Or worse, think about drowning himself.
The elder was touching the blood on the handkerchief with two fingers, frowning thoughtfully.
"Are you sure? You really want that?" She asked, sounding deeply concerned.
"Yes. And he'll attack you when he finds out you're one of us," he said, his ten-year-old voice shaking with determination and fear. "I've thought about it every way. Do you trust me, Elder Iota?"
"Don't call me that!" She snapped, her beady eyes sharpening with disdain. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm disgraced?!"
"Okay, Disgraced One," Seto heard himself say spitefully and roll his eyes. "Make a pact with me that will change my being! My entire body and soul! I'll be a human completely! I'll bleed red, and Mokuba will too! And so will you! That greedy monster's trail ends here, with us. He'll be obsessed with torturing me until his death, he'll never get anything close to the truth."
There was a tense silence and the elder's forehead wrinkled.
"Please!" Seto heard himself cry, and his knees weakened, so he fell to the floor while crying, his diamond tears littering the ground before him, and dropping into the cracks of his tiny, chubby fingers while he mumbled through his tears.
"Please, Elder. He killed Mother and Father in front of me, and you've already suppressed that memory in my head, so you can do this too. Do you love me or not?! I still have Seth! He's still alive! I can't die yet! And neither can you!"
He looked up and saw the Elder had turned away, her hunched shoulders shaking as she stared at herself in the mirror, her face pale as she listened to his pleas.
"We can put safeguards in place. I can find myself again if I try hard enough," Kaiba heard himself say quietly, and he held his breath when footsteps thumped violently past the door, giving them both a fright.
"See?" Kaiba heard himself whisper, clearly eager to push the Elder into making the life-changing pact with him. "I can't beat him alone with the one weak pact I made. You can help me… You need to help me…. I—I command you to help me!"
I refuse, the elder replied coldly in his mind, and Kaiba grit his teeth, feeling tears of frustration spill out of the corners of his eyes again, his vision blurring mightily as he dug his fingers into the hardwood.
"FINE! I don't need your help! You can go home to the ruins underwater!" he hissed, feeling like his world was crumbling. "Go back to your hole and starve yourself to death for all I care! I'm up here trying to save our fins. You're not helping, so go home, o' Disgraced One!"
There was another tense silence, and finally, the elder turned to give him a grave look.
"There is one pact," she said slowly, and Kaiba felt his face split into a triumphant grin.
"Knew it," he said tauntingly, and she shook her head at him, looking terrified, and her frightened expression seemed to sober his ten-year-old self up right away.
"No one I know has ever broken out of it," she whispered, her voice dropping to a barely audible rasp. "You're of royal blood, so perhaps you can. You've always been…extraordinary, Seto."
"Yeah, shut up. I know," Kaiba heard himself reply brashly, and his chest tightened at the memory of Isono saying that to him on his deathbed.
"Your memory won't return, even if you see a merperson," she whispered fearfully, reaching out to grab him by the wrist in an all-too familiar way. "You'll forget me. You'll forget…Seth."
"Good. I don't like him anyway," Kaiba heard himself reply boldly, but he felt a shard of ice shoot through his heart, making every beat painful. This was the sacrifice he'd make, to ensure that Gozaburo stayed out of the ocean for as much as he could help it.
The elder grimaced and a pearly tear rolled down her wrinkled cheek as she lowered her head briefly before she composed herself enough to make eye contact.
"Then…I will forget too," she said simply, already rolling up her sleeve and extending one index finger to show off a gleaming claw. "You said it. We can defeat him together and save what's left of our species. Let's taunt him with our knowledge and power until he leaves the earthly plane. Ready, Seto?"
"Ready," Kaiba felt himself shake with dread and excitement as he stuck his arm out for the elder and planted his feet apart, determined.
She stabbed her nail into his palm, drawing forth a stream of hot blood that dripped down his elbow and stained the hem of his shirt. Her mouth was moving, and she was chanting, her raspy voice blending in with the rush of the ocean water, and Kaiba felt a headache stab through the front of his mind, realizing that the cause of his frequent headaches was probably the pact activating, preventing him from remembering anything!
Her voice flooded his ears, and along with it, memories of his entire life underwater.
Seth was tugging him along by the arm, asking him to play tag with a group of other kids.
His mother, beaming at him from across the dining table, offering him his favorite—black fish eggs, which he accepted happily with both hands, earning an eye-roll from Seth.
Then, he was curled up in bed, sneakily braiding Seth's hair to the bedpost while his twin slept, and then he was sneaking out, avoiding the guards at the pillars by the entrance before he zipped out of the palace with speed unrivaled…heading straight for the markers indicating the outskirts of the hemisphere, to visit Elder Iota.
His father's face floated in front of him, tucking him into bed, kissing him on the forehead, warming his body nicely before his father did the same to Seth, and Seth sat up, demanding a bedtime story while the Medic floated behind him, carrying two bottles of purified water in his arms.
Then, he was swimming again, towards a flaming fissure while Seth screamed at him to stop. He did, but not before sticking his arm into the steaming water to show off the fact that he couldn't be burned.
He was on his back again, feigning sleep while Seth tugged at his hair, braiding it to the bedpost as revenge.
He woke up to laugh in his twin's face, and found himself sitting in school, bored out of his mind, learning about stuff he already knew, and he glanced down at the paper in front of him, taking in the odd doodles of fish and the way he was deconstructing the language to write it vertically, and then backwards…out of sheer boredom.
The classroom melted away and he was floating in a procession, decked out in heavy finery, holding his chubby arms out to accept a bracelet from a blushing mermaid about his age, and she swam away to hide behind her mother's back, waving shyly at him. He stuck the bracelet on his arm to show it off proudly and caught an approving look from his mother and father. Seth copied him, and only got a nod from his father, because Mother wasn't looking their way anymore. He received a cold nudge in his ribs, and he nudged Seth back, harder.
It turned into a full-on tussle with people exclaiming in shock as they fought viciously, trying to draw blood with their tiny claws.
They were pulled apart by two warriors, and Kaiba felt his fingertips burn as he swiped the guard across the chest, earning a pained yell, and the memory faded, along with the vivid scenes.
Kaiba found himself lying on his back in the cool sand, with the urn at his side and the photo of Isono somewhere at his feet. It had fallen over. Whatever. It didn't matter.
He needed to see more.
He grabbed the vase and took another aggressive sip, falling headfirst into the room where Gozaburo had left him aching and bleeding from the head.
The Elder was no longer in the room with him. It was Isono, as he always remembered him, with the serious facial hair, handkerchief neatly folded in his blazer pocket while carrying a towel on his arm and standing stiffly at attention.
The manservant let out a gasp and reached down to grab him by the arm, shaking him furiously, "did you hurt yourself?! Why are you bleeding?! Who hurt you? Was it the master?"
Dazed and confused, Kaiba stared at the stream of red blood trailing down his entire arm and matched it to the very first fond memory he had of Isono, "saving" him from Gozaburo's violence.
H-Holy….shit.
"He…hurts me all the time," Kaiba heard himself say quietly, and he began to cry again, but this time, his tears were liquid and no longer gems. The diamonds from earlier were still scattered all over the floor, and Isono hastily bent down to sweep them into his palm
"Were you stealing?" The manservant asked steadily, and Kaiba shook his head angrily.
"No! Those were here when I came in! Where the heck do you think I would've gotten so many anyway?"
"Of course, of course. You're merely a child," Isono muttered, and he pocketed the gems with swift precision and stood up straighter, giving him a formal nod. "I will keep an eye out for the master from now on, but I can't protect you if he finds out I'm helping you. Don't get me in trouble too. Now I'm going to call a doctor. You will say that you fell on some glass while playing roughly with Mokuba. Understood?"
"…Yes," Kaiba lowered his head furiously and clamped his other hand over the still-bleeding wound, feeling himself weaken. Oh crap. He was losing blood too fast.
The room faded and the memory ended there.
Kaiba stared up at the night sky, recalling thinking that he'd tried to kill himself and had failed miserably. The doctor had bandaged his arm, gave him some stitches, and he didn't heal for an entire two weeks. Gozaburo left him alone for those two weeks, and it was brief salvation, so much that he considered hurting himself more seriously more often, but Isono was always there to stop him.
Silvery stars twinkled over his head, and Kaiba felt like a great weight had been lifted off his chest. Everything…made sense now. Gozaburo was an abusive prick, not only because he was a monster at heart, but because he was searching for mermaids, and he'd discovered he'd adopted two mer-children.
Beating the shit out of them for secrets was logical to that madman.
Sitting up with effort, Kaiba reached for the vase to take another sip, and he leaned back to fall into scenes which were now beginning to feel familiar to him.
He was scribbling in his diary, writing reverse mer about the illegal pacts he'd made. Then, he was molding metal with the metalsmith, darting between the chart on the bench and back to the hearth, speaking excitedly. This was going to be the grand, arched entryway to the shrine for Great-Grandpapi.
That scene melted and he was swimming at breakneck speed with a school of the largest fish he'd ever seen. He waited three heartbeats before looping his arm around the nearest one, cackling triumphantly, thinking that Great-Grandpapi would be proud. He would build a tank and make a few of these to swim around the shrine, just for him.
His head spinning, Kaiba walked through several more memories.
He was following the Medic around, learning about mer-medicine, then he was following the architect around, sourcing materials for a build, and then he was trailing after a pod of warriors, watching them throw spears. One was handed to him with a grin, and he beamed, feeling a rush of excitement.
When the memory ended, Kaiba automatically reached for the vase to take a sip, learning that father had begrudgingly re-mated after his mother was injured by bullets and was beyond saving. He lived at the neighboring queendom of Almeta, rising to shore to find him after receiving news of an 'immortal child' traveling between orphanages, resulting in Mokuba's mother giving birth to Mokuba on land after they found him.
But their reunion came at a terrible cost.
Gozaburo hunted his father and Mokuba's mother down easily with private detectives and police that he'd bribed, just to get his hands on Mokuba.
Nothing Elder Iota did at that time made a difference.
That man had killed his parents in front of him for fun, in hopes of eliciting a reaction.
It had taken all of his willpower to keep Mokuba away from Gozaburo's violence. He had to lie to his little brother and say their parents 'went on vacation' and left them with this disgusting man on accident, even going as far to say that Gozaburo tricked their parents into letting them be adopted, because he made himself out to be 'trustworthy'.
And when the constant lying no longer worked, he'd wiped Mokuba's memories with the help of Elder Iota.
They were currently locked away in a pencil pouch in his desk at the mansion. He was sure he still had it. There was a pact on it, similar to the one cast on this urn.
With tears stinging his eyes, Kaiba reached blindly for the vase and took a rough gulp, no longer feeling anything. When no new visions accompanied the disgusting tang of salty ocean water, did he realize that all the memories had been returned to him.
The starry night sky swam into view again, and Kaiba stared at his shoes, half-buried in the sand while his body buzzed strangely with relief…and joy?
He'd finally found the reason that explained all of his strange habits and mannerisms.
He was fascinated with engineering because he loved the art of science and math, with a little boost from the moon and mer-secrets, it made him invincible, unstoppable.
He'd unlocked the secrets of the universe…until he'd met his match in the form of a cruel, unmoving human. Originally, Kaiba thought he could take on Gozaburo, but as time went on, it was becoming clear that he'd greatly underestimated that monster.
Human cruelty knows no bounds, Kaiba paled, gripping his knees tightly and feeling a rush of affection for Atem.
Atem's folklores about merpeople being skinned alive and kept in jars was starting to resonate with him. Earlier, he'd scoffed at it, thinking it was natural humans wanted to do that.
Hell, he'd been very close to doing that to Atem when the mer-king was hanging suspended in his tank full of seaweed.
Now, he realized it was very much…unnatural.
Humans were trash and couldn't be trusted.
Good thing he'd bound Kemo with a pact that caused him asthma attacks.
That explained his initial distrust for Kemo.
It wasn't because he was an Isono clone.
It was because he was human.
He never trusted his secretaries at work either. Always keeping tabs on them, making sure security cameras covered every inch of his home, his buildings, his cars…. He didn't trust anyone! Other than Mokuba and Isono, and now, that circle had widened to Atem, Seth…and definitely Mahad—who were all merpeople.
Staring at his sand-covered shoes, Kaiba felt another rush of affection for Atem. Even without his memories, he'd managed to find someone so kind and understanding. A big part of that was because Atem was from the ocean.
Would Mokuba feel the same about having married a human if he had his memories returned?
I need a shower, Kaiba thought darkly, rising to his feet and staring at the empty vase of ocean water at his feet. He bent down to retrieve it, making sure to pick up the portrait of Isono, receiving a slight shock when he saw that the picture had changed.
It was no longer an image of Isono in his black-and-white suit with his grave, tight-lined mouth, strong brow, and neatly trimmed facial hair. The person framed in the photo was Elder Iota, with her wispy long hair tied back in a solemn bun, her cheeks impossibly wrinkled, the corners of her mouth drawn up in a wry smirk, her dark eyes piercing right him through him the longer he continued to stare.
The pact had finally been broken.
He could see her as she was, which meant he could probably also read the missing part in his journals.
"Oh, damn," Kaiba muttered, and he made his way slowly back to the beach house, feeling like he was floating with every step he took.
Peace? Was this a feeling of peace? Satisfaction? Resignation? Depression?
She's really dead, Kaiba thought to himself, marching up the steps and setting the portrait down gently against the couch. He would preserve this with a pact and bring it with him underwater, so he could keep it close to him. She had been his shrewd but kindly grandmother.
Most of his rude, standoffish mannerisms, he'd picked up from her, because she'd been an outcast for so long, warmth was hard to come by.
Well, I sure showed her, Kaiba thought dryly, remembering all their shouting matches about 'correct wording' of the pact. She must've broken out of it herself, right before 'having a stroke', or perhaps breaking out of it had caused the stroke.
He would never know.
All he knew was that the memory-binding pact had worked.
Even upon her death, the pact did not break, and she was the only Holder.
He'd inadvertently learned another pact-making secret. One did not have to be alive or need to cast the terms of the agreement onto another living merperson.
This explained Isono's unsually cheerful demeanor on his deathbed.
It had been Elder Iota, taunting him one last time, because that was their relationship. She'd hung on for so many days on the life-support machine, just to make sure he was safe with Mokuba before she passed away.
What she really needed was a chrysalis, but he couldn't provide that at the time. It would've revived her, but Kaiba had a feeling staying alive wasn't something she wanted.
She'd have to return to underwater life as the Disgraced Elder.
She was officially done living, and she'd made that very clear with her cheerful tone.
Kaiba hung his head and kept staring at the picture, his heart pounding slowly as he tried to sort out his emotions. He wasn't in mourning anymore. He was feeling…thankful and grateful that she'd led him this far and made sure he was living comfortably.
Now…about the empty urn….
Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Kaiba decided he would fill it with sand—just in case.
He was still protecting Mokuba, after all these years.
Author's note:
Kaiba's backstory, his memories returned! (kaiba's backstory part 5 of 5)!
Let me know your thoughts pretty please?
_ugli
